[SkyPilot]

The article is from last January, but I just ran across it and am posting it for interest.

Hurricane season is upon us, and you never know what other dangers might befall you or your family.

I think the proverbial "bugging out" is totally situational. I was in the Florida panhandle when Hurricane Ivan came in and tried to kill me. I left, thank you very much.

It is always good to follow the old Boy Scout motto and "Be Prepared."

However, this term of "Bugging Out" has gotten a little out of hand in recent years. I swear, I think some people think that surviving in a true disaster is going to be "fun" and that things are going to be like some script from a television show or movie. It won't.

Related article:

The Top 4 Reasons Why You’re Not Going to Survive Bugging Out to the Woods

The article (correctly) points out that you might not find paradise out in those "abandoned" woods. You might find roving bands of other families, surivors, and people who will be competing for the same resources as you (food, shelter, water, game, etc).

The veneer of civilization is very, very thin. In bad situations, people can get ugly - quick.

Again, it is all situation dependent. It a tsunami is headed your way - then you probably want to get out. However, in even the worst situation, the average home still has tools, water, food, matches, flashlights, clothing, shelter, knives, rope, sterno, etc.

Stay safe!

[immadashell]

Staying dry is one of the most important things in survival situations. Your home does that much better than a bug out bag.

[kvanbrunt2]

for contrast via movies mad max v a charlton heston movie of him in a fortress in a city. he could get canned goods and stuff during the day. rolled up the blinds at night — the night people wanted to kill him

[Patriotic1]

I swear, I think some people think that surviving in a true disaster is going to be "fun" and that things are going to be like some script from a television show or movie. It won't.

As the Walking Dead proves, the people who are alive are usually more of a danger than the walkers. So if you watch that, you will be disabused of any 'fun' ideas.

[fso301]

Whenever you get to wherever you are going, someone will notice, put 2 and 2 together and become uncontrollably curious as to what all you might have that they could use.

[RetiredTexasVet]

After a couple of Progressives I know laughed at any prepping, I suggested that they should practice for the FEMA camps by staying at the Salvation Army homeless shelter for a week of so to acclimate themselves to their future.

[Pollster1]

There are situations in which I would bug out, but they are extreme. Bugging out is a terrible option for me. I can’t imagine feeding my wife and family in the woods year-round as a long-term plan. If I bug out, chances are it’s a very brief tactical retreat before retaking my home and my neighborhood.

At home, I know the neighbors, and there are quite a few who shoot at least monthly. At home, I know my house and the surrounding terrain. Any group strong enough to take my home and hold it is too big to stay there for long. Even if they take my stuff, I’d rather be in my own home than under a lean-to. Even if they burn my home, I’d rather be in a shelter built in the ruins than in a shelter built in the woods. And, I’d rather fight from home and keep outsiders from taking my home and my stuff in the first place, instead of trying to protect what I can carry while on the run through a potentially hungry stranger’s neighborhood.

[sergeantdave]

Good article.

In a zombie apocalypse, the safest place to be is in a pro-2nd amendment, Christian community.

[TexasTransplant]

No Kidding ... I’m Too Old, Out of Shape and I think everyone ELSE should move, Those that survive our first meeting will live long enough to drag their buddies down wind far enough that I won’t have to deal with the flies.
Second meeting those that disagree will get dragged by the ones that I will meet the third time, if it takes a forth or fifth time, I will drag the remains myself.
I hate Flies

[PA Engineer]

Off subject a bit, but related.

Those wire saws are pretty useless. The Pocket Chainsaw is lightweight (shipping weight is 4.8 ounces) and just works.

Sportsman Pocket Chainsaw - Best Survival Saw 2015 (YouTube 1:00Min)

I keep one on my belt when working on the upper 6 acres of woodland. One of the best inventions made for keeping the trail clear.

Everyone in my family has a backpack in their car. Just replaced the Mountain House FD food in each of them. We call them Get Home Bags (GOB). Each bag is set up to hit the trail tomorrow (just like backpacking) and get home.

Anyone with an emergency bag can easily test them out on the trail. Take a long weekend and just do it. You will learn quickly what works and what doesn't. A good reference for hikers has been The Complete Walker IV. It is a bit granola like, however an excellent reference.

The most important attitude to have when setting up a bag is to get light weight. Cut down every ounce you can. I knew people years ago who would cut their wood matches in half. Some people are very OCD about it.

Just a few thoughts. YMMV.

[familyop]

"You may put yourself in a worse situation...Do you think the National Forest is going to be reserved solely for you and your family?"

True. If too many people were to try to camp in a national forest after a disaster, problems with sanitation, conflicts, potentially worsened forest fire situations, storms, cold, etc., would result. The area would be cleared and everyone sent packing to a desination with better infrasctructure (an existing, rehearsed plan).

[familyop]

"Gear is heavy and a lot of gear is heavier."

True. Combat soldiers in training are built up for several months then consume nearly five times the number of calories recommended for civilians while in training. And that, from a very balanced diet. Yet, a few soldiers suffer broken hips from stress fractures during road marches (insufficient nutrition to keep the bones dense and thick enough).

While marching on a hot day, a physically fit person needs at least five gallons of water to march 20 miles. That's over 40 pounds of weight for water alone. Winter presents much more serious problems and much more weight to carry. Then, there's sanitation--much more of a problem than most people realize.

[Nailbiter]

bflr

[Chainmail]

Good stuff.

[familyop]

"Maybe you are one of the lucky ones that have a place to go up in the mountains."

Heh. The central or northern Rockies? Trust me on this. Visit the area you're interested in during January or February before considering that, and get the vehicle properly prepared for driving on ice, extreme cold weather wear, blankets, etc. Also consider fuel costs for heating a house there, the difficulties of gardening there, if gardening is part of the plan, and a few other things.

[Ghost of SVR4]

I have my bug out to get to my bug in. I have to work in a city. I carry an oversized back pack by most city in-comer standards. Within my bug out (not chancing leaving it in my vehicle in case I cannot get to it) is my VERY slim laptop pouch for work. Beyond that is the 38 (loaded), extra ammo (lots), socks, first aide, two days (x2 person) dried rations; vitamins; aspirin; water treatment kit (plus times two bottles) and a multitude of other “things” in case I have to hump it on foot 30+ miles home which would take me 3 days playing it safe. If I can get to my vehicle safely; great; but I don’t plan on it. I plan on having to hoof it. I am more than worried these days about an EMP and given the weakling in the white hut; it is a real possibility since NO nation has a reason to fear him; hell, they can count on him standing our military down.

[mumblypeg]

Excellent article.
Bugging out now is better than later, IMO, because it gives you time to figure out your mistakes and correct them. I know some folks doing some things they might regret.
A family I know built a cabin on a mountain with only one road in and out. . Easier to defend against the zombie hordes, they’ll just pick ‘em off coming up the road. Huh. But it’s actually unlikely any zombies will be climbing any mountain roads. Far more likely the homesteaders will get their own selves trapped, in or out, by a fire, a mudslide, a snowstorm, a serious injury, a broken down vehicle, once they get there. IF they get there when SHTF. It’s 800 miles away.

Nobody needs to go to a mountaintop or a desert to escape the feral hordes. You can hide in plain sight and let them pass right by you.

There’s lots of cheap land that can be had just 20 or 30 miles out of town. Get off the freeway, onto any county or farm road, and look for miles of wooded frontage. Tuck your cabin back in the woods, where it can’t be seen from the road, and hunker down. The time to start planting a garden is now, not after SHTF.

[stevie_d_64]

Looking thru most of the discussion so far, and I have to say most folks have this idea down pretty good...

It has taken me years, and the best lesson I learned over that time, was to not let a lot of people know you are prepping...

All I have to add is this, if you cannot walk away from anything you are doing at that moment when the decision has to be made, in 30 seconds, you are behind the curve, if you already have a place you are going to, if not bugging in...

I wont lock the door, we’ll load the dog, throw the wife in the bed of the truck, and we are gone...Or maybe the other way around, it depends on how I feel...

As for letting anyone know, that’s kinda up to you...The obvious people know (3, plus the dog), and we have plenty of stuff to take care of us for quite some time...

You got to consider security, and keeping a very low profile...

If you bug in, I would try not letting anyone know you are there...Neighbors can be nosy, but laying low for a weekend might be a great drill, and kinda fun if you have kids...Just game it out ahead of time, and in the end, see if anyone (neighbors) ask where you were...

Just tell them you were laying low for the weekend, and be glad they noticed nothing from you for 48 hours...

If not, and somebody noticed something try to be coy about it and see what they saw...Keep it simple, if it was a light, a curtain move, the dog barking, etc etc etc...

It will give you something to think about and improve on...

I would also, on a side note, never talk about what I have, how much I have, and where I’m going...Not even in such a generally anonymous forum such as this, or any other...

Just remember rule #1: “Don’t talk about bug-out club.”

[AllAmericanGirl44]

bkmk

[trebb]

Our home is pretty defensible - bugging out is only viable for us in cases of natural disaster.

[octex]

bump for later read